Calling all E46 M3 owners past and present.

Please tell me about the car. How is it to own , to drive, maintenance, reliability etc
........

I'm also particularly interested in people's views of the SMG V manual debate.

Thanks.

Sean

M3 of old is dull to drive.
The only choice would be the CSL but it doesnt have any equipment and there 20k still for a minter.

Forget the Mercs as there unreliability is a concern.

My choice would be the RS6 or RS4.Hasslefree reliable quick well equipped car.

I have driven all the above except the Merc and would definitely have the Audi.

Thanks for your views John.

I'm more interested in peoples views where they have actually owned one for a decent period of time.
I'm not asking for a comparison of any other cars or a M3 V Coop debate just a report from an owner's perspective.

I feel after 10 years ownership time has maybe come for a change. I originally wanted an E39 M5 but I think they maybe getting a bit old now and being afraid massive bills /maintenance costs has changed my mind.

I still love my Coop to bits, it drives as well as it has ever done but like I said 10 years is a long time and I have taken it as far as I want to in tuning/modding it.

Sean

Sean,I'm Worried for your safety.having seen you sideways at Mallory in a forgiving fwd car maybe a RS6 would be better.
I owned an RS6 and an M3 evo.werent quick enough and were a
Little too boring/refined to appeal to my immature motoring terror requirements .

You spelled terror wrong... it's TERROR.

A flatmate had one some years ago; beautifully specced "Individual" SMG Coupe. Blue outside and cream inside - lovely place to be. Spent a lot of time in it myself.

The build quality is superb (coming from an Italian). No rattles; absolutely rock-solid feel. Computers catch most mistakes and over-enthusiasm. Floating calipers decent enough for the occasional blat but probably needs an expensive upgrade to proper stoppers for track work.

Not a specially torquey engine, but it just goes on and on and on. It's a car that BEGS to be revved. It's long legs between upshifts give it some serious legs. If you come from a car with more pedestrian rev limits (like the Coupe), the red line takes a little getting used to. Where you usually change in a normal car, the M3 just keeps going for a while yet. If you don't rag the engine, you are not making the most of the car. I've driven a DC5R and the tachy "longevity" seems longer in the M3.

When he had it the car was only a couple of years old and had next-to-nothing miles on it, so servicing costs were not much. We did wake up one morning to find the car on bricks, with the wheels not cheap to replace, but that's not a typical cost (unless you're in Scouse land!). Drank fuel like it was going out of fashion if you gunned it, but surprisingly frugal at lower revs. I would guess the power curve is similar to what a E46 330 would be, except maybe plus 10-15% overall and with the extra legs that the red line gives you (power peaks considerably in the last few tachy notches). So if you drive it in the lower revs, you get good consumption.

Lovely interior with all the toys. Harman Kardon sound option is worth it. TV is bollocks. Nav is outdated compared to what you get these days; better to use a Tomtom. Absolutely superb seats and headlights. Still up there with the best of today's cars. I have a 2000 Coupe, and the E46 M3 came out in 2001, and the difference in driving comfort between the two feels like 15 years.

"Compared" it once against my (at the time) mildly-tuned Coupe on a runway. Coupe resolutely destroyed, and I was trying hard. It will see the arse end of any decently-modded Coupe though; it just can't compete with the lb/ft of forced induction.

Lovely, raspy, gnarly sound. Not as lush as the Coupe, but very unique. Never heard another BMW like it.

Only thing that would stop me is how common the E46 is, and possible pitfalls now that the early cars are a decade old. The cars may be cheaper, but I expect the servicing (particularly replacing old parts) can still bite hard.

Just to add: SMG took some getting used to, but once you did, was a doddle to use. The initial period though leads to some jerky driving. Auto mode is convenient for pootling about in traffic jams and the city.

But if it were me, I would go for the manual every time (personal preference).

Deadlock : thanks for the very comprehensive write up.

JBT : my mind is not decided yet. I shall have a ride in Nobby's RS6 to see what's all the fuss is about.

The fuss is there is no fuss.
Refinement ,luxury,tranquility and terror in lowercase.

And I still Get to beat you in the coupe.''REAL TERROR''

Sorry johnny but that is just the biggest contradiction ever! an e46 is much more exciting to dive than any audi, oversteer vs the classic audi understeer.

i think the e46 is a great car and is an absolute bargin,it does everything so well and driven by someone who can actually drive they can be stunningly fast.

johnny did you race those two e46s that were at donington last year?

as for smg vs manual, I was speaking to independent who sell e46s and they don't touch smg's anymore as the cost to repair wipes out there monthly budget when you offer warranty and customers come back with problems.

The rs6 is predictable and a forgiving well balanced mix between under steer and predictable oversteer.
The only car I owned with more precise oversteer was my evo.
The m3 of Old was fierce in its behaviour and with the pendulum rear end wanting to put you in the hedge at speed it wasn't a car that inspired confidence.
A better driver than me may disagree but these are my views only.
Plus everyone owns a BMW nowadays as there more common than a focus.

As I first mentioned above the Mercs have serious reliability issues as indicated by the jd power survey and the styling is uninspiring.

I got beat by the M3 csl at Donny running my old setup.
The Csl would be my choice of Bm or the old M5 for shear sound and fun.
It would be the Audi,for me anyway and offers best value .

I got one Great car mines manual - very quick well built just make sure service history is all there, some bargains to be had out there

I know there are loads and loads of reviews out there but this recent Piston Heads one was an interesting read:

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=52&i=25931

I still want one...Just something different being reasonable quick and reliable..

Get on M3cutters, lots of excellent stuff on there. The PH buying guide is okay, but glosses over the rear subframe cracking - do your research, although there are a couple of places (independent specialists) that can repair them now. Prices are very low, and there's some lovely cars out there, just be prepared to look at a few. Oh, and Laguna Seca Blue is just stunning.

As an aside, I completely disagree with JBT as to the RS6/M3 - it's not an appropriate comparison. I found the RS6 soulless to drive, with so much grip that unless you've got a death wish or are tracking it (in which case your consumables bill would be hilarious) you'd never reach the limit of grip. I found the M3 had an excess of grip over power (at least in the dry) and was very forgiving at the limit. Just personal experience though, and I'm no sideways hero.

I was hoping you would chip in Neal, I remembered you had a M3.
Didn't you also have an E39 M5 aswell ?

E39 is great fun, reasonably economical, well supported and somehow easy to work on. Compared with more recent V8 supersaloons it's fairly quiet but a popular mod is to ditch the rear silencers (4 of them!!), saving loads of weight and adding a bit more growl with apparently little penalty in day to day discomfort.

You have to watch out for rust though - there are a few well known weak spots plus I reckon quite a few have been broken due to rot.

Check out http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-discussion/ for lots and lots of info.

Here is a link to the SMG II user guide here here and addendum here

That's the BMW training material on SMG+the owner's manual.

Yes I did. I loved my M5 for it's all-round ability, but I preferred the M3 (mine was an M3 Evo, but I've driven E46s and I researched them to death before buying the M5 instead). M3s are substantially more "raw" and sporty-feeling.

I actually found the M5 a bit of a funny one - they are great cars, and have a truly remarkable breadth of ability, coupled with (obviously) loads of pace. They are also fabulous value for money and superbly built.

I’ll get flamed for this, no doubt, but what are they really for? I bought mine as a fun family car in preparation for parenthood, and whilst I had a great year with it, I found that (a) it was too thirsty to be a cruiser/daily driver/long distance family transport (and it felt like a waste of that engine to use it as such); (b) it came into its own in terms of handling at road speeds I wasn't comfortable with (I’m no opposite lock hero); and (c) it was too heavy and consumables were too expensive to use it on track (and I had the Clio for that anyway). So I sold it and got the 530i, and went halves on a Caterham (update to follow if it EVER stops raining).

Even as an only car I’d still have an M3 over an M5. Unless I had to regularly transport more than 3 people and their stuff.

PS - M5board is truly excellent as a forum.

Get out there you big jessie.

Re Neal's post, you make some good points about the M5 (E39?).
They are almost too fast for this country, a good 528 or 530 Sport allows you to use the performance without fearing for your licence.

e46 coupes rip rear wishbones off the floor pan.

Been there, bought the t-shirt.

Yep - rear subframe cracking, definitely get any E46 inspected in that area pre-purchase.

AP1, it's not just the outright pace (although that's a factor) for me. They are awesome cars though.

Not had a E46 M3 but I had an E39 M5.

Performance - Not that quick in the early gears (heavy car) but at motorway speeds it was seriously swift. I found it very easy and safe to drift.

Reliability - dead pixels in hash, regular snapped anti roll bar mounts. Apart from that I had no real issues, mine was still under BMW warranty. Mine had both Vanos units replaced before I had it. It drank 1 liter of oil every 500 miles which BMW said was 'within the expected range'. Post facelift cars > 2001 apparently much better on oil consumption.

The standard brakes were seriously under specified. It felt heavy. Fuel consumption about 20mpg average. Standard exhaust so quiet you could barely hear the engine.

For me it was too much of a compromise, far more business man cruiser than raw high performance machine.

I would personally only have one now if I could get an aftermarket warranty.

ive currently got an E46..

it reallyis an amazing car.

not driven some thing that soo addictive

it is exactley what you would think it would be.

the mid range is a bit.. flat.. but the top end.. WOW.

also the acceleration is just wow.

the one im borrowing is a convertiable, it gets twichy at "70"

but its just sex on wheels.

Im now more pushed to get one than ever before.

One thing that grinds my gears... The traction control.

its like an over protect mrs.
Constantly stepping in and taking the fun away for no reason.

saying that.. i think its saved my arse once

From what I've heard it's long beyond saving.......

mrs stan likes it

get some photos up Marco!

I've love an M3 - on the list

will do once it stops raining.